"Food is our common ground, a universal experience." -James Beard

Vidalia, 6 June 2012

Having enjoyed RJ Cooper’s Rogue 24 a couple times in the past, I wanted to try Vidalia, where Cooper had been chef de cuisine from 2004 to 2010. The chef and owner of Vidalia, Jeffrey Buben, is himself a James Beard Foundation award-winner, so I went into this dinner with high expectations. Here’s some details and recommendations (spoiler: everything I ordered was excellent).

When an amuse-bouche is good, you get excited for the rest of the meal. This one was rhubarb and orange on a parsnip purée.

Appetizers:

Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras – “Rhubarb, spicy peanut praline, black pepper biscuit, cheerwine gelée.” I love foie gras…if it’s on the menu I almost always get it. This version didn’t let me down. The savoriness of the foie gras went so well with the sweetness of the fruits and nuttiness of the praline. Cheerwine is a cherry soda from North Carolina that has been around since 1917. Great cherry flavor – reminds me of cherry pie. Buy it online or at some grocery stores and restaurants.

Hamachi Crudo – Another good one…this was on the chef’s inspirations special menu. Came with chilled watermelon, cranberry purée, cheese, and a vegetable sorbet. The hamachi itself was fresh and tasty, without the fishiness you sometimes get with lower quality or poorly prepared yellowtail.

Crisp Berkshire Pork Trotter – “Sunny-side egg, black pepper grits, apple butter, béarnaise sauce.” The pork trotter was by far my favorite appetizer….absolutely delicious. So many flavors that work together in harmony. This is no pickled pig’s foot, but rather some nice and tender leg meat. If you only get one appetizer at Vidalia, this is the one you should be getting.

It was difficult to settle on only three firsts…many of them sounded great from the menu descriptions. Next time I want to try the Oyster Pan Roast and the Sweetbreads & Waffles (right behind another dish of the pork trotter).

Pork, egg, béarnaise, apple butter, grits, pepper…so many flavors working so well together. This pork trotter was excellent.

Braised Barbecue Bison Short Ribs – “Zola’s cornbread purée, heirloom carrots, turnip greens, chanterelles, barbecue spiced jus.” Although I loved the duck, I think this was the winner of the entrees. The smokiness hit my mouth before the fork made it to my mouth. Flavorful and perfectly cooked to fall off the bone…no knife needed.

Vidalia’s Baked Onion – “Country ham, red-eye gastrique, mushrooms.” Being at a place called “Vidalia”, I couldn’t pass up getting this side dish. A hefty vidalia onion came out and was cut up by the waiter into petals of sweet liquid. This was a good choice…it went well with the entrees and lived up to the restaurant’s name.

Great duck…

Bison Short Ribs…so good…

The Vidalia Onion side dish…I don’t always eat all my side, but this time I did.

Cheese and Desserts:

3-Cheese Plate – We went with a selection of cheese to start, one each from the sheep, goat, and cow varieties. Vidalia has an extensive cheese menu (~25 options) which changes often. The plating included three types of crackers and three jellies (apple, apricot, and plum) as accoutrements.